How to assemble front hand brake

Although there are lots of different types of brakes, changing the cable can often be very similar between them all. You start by loosening the bolt at the brake caliper (the part of the brake that’s closest to the wheel) that holds the inner brake cable. Once the inner brake cable has been loosened at the caliper, you can get enough slack at the brake lever (on the handlebars) to unhook the brake cable from the brake lever. Most brake cables have a tiny cylinder on the end of the cable that fits into a tiny cradle on the brake lever. Pivot that tiny cylinder to slip it out of the cradle. Then you can remove the entire brake cable. You might have to line up different adjustment screws on the brake handle and/or brake caliper to get the cable free. For the brake pads, most of them are held in with a bolt or screws on each side. Loosen and remove the bolts that are right next to the pads. Swapping in the new pads is the reverse procedure, but you’ll need to be very careful to align the pads correctly to the rim for proper braking. If the pads aren’t aligned properly, you won’t have good braking power - or no brakes at all! Of course, disk brakes are very different and disk brake pads can often be changed with no tools or loosening required - but you’ll need to check with your particular type of brake to determine the right procedure.